Tees Valley Sport

13/10/2026

One thing we are continuing to learn through our health work across Tees Valley is that having opportunities available is only part of the answer.

People also need to be able to find them, understand them and feel confident taking the next step.

We are seeing this through work around falls prevention, cancer pathways, long-term conditions and social prescribing.

Health professionals need confidence in where they can signpost people. Community organisations need confidence supporting people with different health needs. And for the person themselves, the journey needs to feel simple and achievable.

That is why we are increasingly focusing on the connections between health services, community organisations, clubs and local partners.

Rather than always creating something new, we are looking at how we can strengthen what already exists and make the pathway between services and community opportunities work better.

For us, the learning is simple: better pathways start with better connections.

12/10/2026

Getting active does not have to mean finding lots of time or committing to a big change.

This Girl Can’s 'Move for 10' challenge is about keeping it simple: 10 minutes of movement, 10 times over a month. That could be walking, dancing, playing with the kids, joining a local session or anything else that gets you moving.

For clubs, community groups and activity providers across Tees Valley, it is also a good opportunity to think about how your existing sessions could help more women get started. Sometimes a short, achievable first step can make being active feel much more manageable.

The challenge is designed to be flexible and accessible, with ideas and support available through This Girl Can.

Find out more and sign up:
https://www.thisgirlcan.co.uk/movefor10

08/10/2026

Safeguarding isn’t always about serious incidents.

Through our work with clubs and community organisations, we often hear that there are no formal safeguarding concerns, but there are still questions about behaviour, communication, boundaries, complaints or how to help people feel confident speaking up when something doesn’t feel right.

One thing we are learning is that these smaller concerns really matter.

Good safeguarding is not just about having the right policies. It is also about creating a culture where volunteers feel confident recognising concerns, having conversations early and challenging behaviour when needed.

Training such as Active Bystander and managing low-level concerns can help make safeguarding part of everyday club culture, rather than something that only comes into focus after a problem has happened.

We are continuing to work with clubs to build confidence in these areas and connect them with wider support around issues including neurodiversity and dementia.



NSPCC Ann Craft Trust Sport England Alzheimer's Society

06/10/2026

Sometimes the challenge isn’t that opportunities don’t exist. It is that people and organisations do not always know what is already happening or how different opportunities connect.

That is something we have been learning through recent conversations around youth employability across Tees Valley.

A number of organisations are already working to support young people through sport, leadership, volunteering, qualifications and employment. But many of those conversations and opportunities have been happening separately.

Rather than creating something new, Tees Valley Sport has been helping bring partners together so we can build a better picture of what already exists, where the gaps might be and how we can make pathways clearer for young people.

We are now exploring how local and national partners can work more closely together and how this work can connect with the wider Tees Valley Skills Plan.

For us, it is another example of why bringing people together matters. Sometimes progress starts with making sure the right people are in the same room and have a shared understanding of what is already happening.



StreetGames CIMSPA MFC Foundation Tees Active School Games Tees Valley Combined Authority

03/10/2026

Happy 22nd birthday to parkrun! 🎉

For 22 years, parkrun has been bringing people and communities together through free, welcoming opportunities to be active.

A huge thank you to the volunteers, participants and local communities who make parkrun possible every week.

Here’s to 22 years of movement, connection and community.

01/10/2026

Apprenticeships can be a great way for young people to gain employment, qualifications and practical experience, but we are also seeing the value they can bring to local organisations.

We recently supported MFC Foundation with their Coach Core application and interview day, which has resulted in three new apprentices joining them this year.

One of the things we are learning through this work is that Tees Valley Sport doesn’t need to provide every element of workforce support ourselves. Organisations such as Coach Core bring specialist expertise, and our role can be to help make those connections across Tees Valley.

We are now looking at how we can connect more clubs and organisations with Coach Core where an apprentice could add capacity and strengthen their workforce.

Want to find out whether it could work for your organisation?

We are hosting an online webinar with Emily Neal, Workforce, Skills & Apprenticeship Lead – North, on Tuesday 27 October from 5–6pm.

Book here: https://forms.gle/4jg569Tr3aYzxkUs6

30/09/2026

Back in May 2025, insight from the local School Games network highlighted a gap in opportunities for young people in alternative provision.

We worked with Evolve Sports Academy, the local School Games network and alternative provision settings to better understand what was needed and shape something that worked for the young people involved.

https://youtu.be/-3uSgmuke9w?feature=shared

Using local insight, relationships and young people’s voice, we developed a mix of team sports, competitive events and experience days.

By July 2026, 19 events had been delivered across the school year, involving 18 alternative provision settings and 852 young people attending.

Settings told us young people were accessing activities they would not normally experience, while also reporting positive changes in engagement, behaviour, attendance, belonging and opportunities to represent their setting.

The pilot has also given us useful learning about what worked, what could be strengthened and what we still need to understand.

You can read the full report to find out more about the impact, learning and what comes next.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1N-JSmStH2SRhoJ-4LlN4pQVxcp6DqClQ/view?usp=sharing

Enjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.

29/09/2026

What helps create long-term change in a place?

During September, we brought partners together across Stockton, Darlington and Hartlepool for our first Shape Our Future Together workshops.

The workshops gave people from across each place time to step away from day-to-day work and look at the bigger picture – how we are working together to reduce inequalities and improve opportunities to be physically active.

Together, we explored what we know about the barriers people face, how well our local systems support place-based working, the capacity and skills we have across our communities and workforce, and how we learn and adapt.

The conversations helped us understand what's working well, where challenges remain and where we can strengthen the way we work together.

We'll return to these workshops each year so we can continue to learn, see what's changing and use that learning to inform what happens next.

28/09/2026

Free guided photography walks are taking place across Tees Valley this October.

Delivered by Active Connextions CIC / Creative Frame CIC North East & North Yorkshire in partnership with Tees Valley Sport, the walks are a chance to get active, get creative and connect with others while exploring your local area.

Bring along a camera or smartphone and a professional photographer will be there to help you get the best from it.

Cameras are also available to use when booking.
📍 Middlesbrough – 13 October
📍 Stockton-on-Tees – 17 October
📍 Hartlepool – 20 October
📍 Darlington – 27 October

All walks run from 11am–1pm and are free to attend.

For more information or to book, contact Janette at Active ConneXtions CIC.

24/09/2026

Sometimes the question you're asking is the thing that needs to change.

Our Health Officer, Vic Auton, has been working with partners across South Tees to strengthen connections between healthcare and community physical activity within the falls prevention pathway.

The starting question was: how do we increase referrals into community physical activity?

But conversations with healthcare professionals, patients and partners highlighted something more fundamental – confidence.

Not simply asking health professionals to feel more confident about referring, but understanding what needs to be in place for them to do so safely, consistently and appropriately.

So the question changed:

“What conditions need to exist for health professionals to confidently connect people with community opportunities?”

That shift is now informing work around shared understanding, referral-ready criteria, trusted relationships and stronger connections between healthcare and community provision.

For Vic, it has been an important lesson in partnership working: sometimes progress means resisting the urge to jump straight to a solution and taking the time to properly understand the challenge first.

As one Clinical Lead involved in the work put it: “I'm trusting the process.”